1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an enclosed ice tray. More particularly, it relates to a non-reusable, enclosed ice cube tray in which individual ice receptacles or cavities for forming ice cubes are filled with a desired liquid when the ice cavities are enclosed. Once the cover of a cavity is peeled away, it can not be resecured to the body of the cavity so that a user has a positive indication that the contents of the cavity has been exposed to the outside.
Significantly, the cover of each cavity is made so that it will support stacking of one ice tray on another during shipping and storage. In addition, the ice cube tray is made so that when a cover area over one cavity is peeled off the cover acts to prohibit the inadvertent ejection of an ice cube in another cavity. In the preferred embodiment, the cover areas are areas on a single cover sheet.
In the present environment, one is concerned about the contaminants found in water supplies. Many people desire to drink fluid from a filtered or controlled source, such as "pure" spring water. It is believed that many liquids, such as liquor, is enhanced by mixing that liquid only with "pure" spring water instead of tap water. Thus, the ice cubes used in such drinks should be made of "pure" spring water.
To assure a customer that the ice cubes will only be made of "pure" spring water, it is necessary that there be a way of assuring, from the time the liquid that forms the ice cubes leaves a production facility to the time it reaches the customer, that the less costly or undesired tap water will not be included.
Thus, there is a need to provide an ice cube tray that permits the manufacturer or producer to seal the tray with the desired liquid, such as "pure" spring water, at the time the manufacturer fills the tray so that the ice cubes formed therein cannot be contaminated, and to construct the tray so that once an ice cube is removed or the contents of a cavity tampered with the customer is immediately notified.
2. Description of The Prior Art
It is known in the art to provide an ice cube tray in which the receptacles for forming the ice cubes are enclosed. Specifically, there are known ice cube trays that include a cover or lid to enclose the ice forming receptacles. However, such covers can be removed so that a formed cube can be ejected and the receptacle can be refilled with liquid and the cover reattached to form a new ice cube. Some such trays include those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,432,529 to McMillian, which issued on Feb. 21, 1984; 3,414,229 to Norberg, which issued on Dec. 3, 1968; 3,374,982 to Sallade, which issued on Mar. 26, 1968; 3,019,617 to Malthaner, et al., which issued on Feb. 6, 1962; 2,804,755 to Ansel, which issued on Sep. 3, 1957; 2,769,316 to Candor, which issued on Nov. 6, 1956; 2,629,987 to Chase, which issued on Mar. 4, 1953; 2,613,512 to Gaugler, which issued on Oct. 14, 1952; 2,503,306 to Storer, which issued on Apr. 11, 1950; 2,069,195 to Chilton, which issued on Feb. 2, 1937; 2,011,849 to Chilton, which issued on Aug. 20, 1935; 2,001,289 to Klyce, Jr., which issued on Aug. 13, 1935; Re. 19,322 to Tanger; which issued on Sep. 18, 1934; 1,896,849 to Newman, which issued on Feb. 7, 1933; and the commercial ice tray product sold by Cooly International, Inc., and the commercial ice tray product called Kwik Kubes sold by Hyman Products Inc. of St. Louis, Mo.
Other trays include an upper portion for forming the individual ice cubes, a lower portion adapted to receive the formed ice cubes, and a divider to separate the upper portion from the lower portion of the tray. One such tray is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,101 to Nigro, which issued on Jun. 2, 1964.
Other enclosed structures or devices for forming individual ice cubes include a bag or other resilient structure separated into individual compartments. Some such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 31,890 to Vangedal-Nielsen, which issued on May 21, 1985; 3,306,567 to Frei, Sr., which issued on Feb. 28, 1967; 2,966,041 to Zearfoss, Jr., et al. which issued on Dec. 17, 1960; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,964,920 to Steabler, which issued on Dec. 20, 1960. The Vangedal-Nielsen patent permits the ice cube to form a circular shape instead of the conventional square shape cube. Other such ice trays having covers or lids permit the cubes to form a shape other than a square or rectangular shape include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,417,716 to Penna, et al., which issued on Nov. 29, 1983 and 2,049,902 to Fischer, which issued on Aug. 4, 1936, and a commercial product sold by Hello Productions, Inc. of Elk Grove Village Illinois under the mark Ice Shapers.
One prior art patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,955,044, which issued on Oct. 4, 1960 to E. S. Tupper, is directed to an ice tray that has a peel off cover that can be reused or discarded after its first use. The body of this tray is formed of plastic, such as polyethylene, and the cover is made of a flexible and deformable material, such as latex.
Other patents disclose enclosed structures and materials commonly used to form same.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,783,089, which issued on Jan. 1, 1974 to A. R. Hurst, et al., is directed to a heat sealed, readily peelable or tearable structure suitable for closures, labels, packaging and the like. The tray of this patent provides a container formed of a high density polyethylene and a peelable sealing sheet that is formed by laminating or otherwise joining a polyamide substrate, namely nylon-6, and a thin film of a low density polyethylene. The laminate is heat sealed on the container and the thermoplastic polymers include polyesters.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,578, which issued on Apr. 30, 1968 to G. C. Sparks, is directed to a strip package assembly that includes a body of relatively stiff, thermoplastic material and a cover or strip formed of an aluminum foil with a thermoplastic coating on one face thereof. The thermoplastic body and the thermoplastic coat of the cover mate to form a heat seal therebetween.
French reference No. 2,040,845 to Wagner is directed to an ice cube tray that includes a thermoplastic body that forms a plurality of cavities and an aluminum film cover. The body and cover are fastened together by glue.
French reference No. 2,169,491 to Henry is also directed to an ice cube tray that has a cover and a body that forms a plurality of cavities. The body is made of plastic, such as, polyethylene, and the cover is made of plastic alone or in combination with aluminum and paper. The body and cover are heat sealed together.
All of the above fail to provide the laminated cover of the present ice tray. None of the above patents provide the combination of materials found in the present ice cube tray. Also, none of the above provides for a single sheet of cover having an individual portion or area over each cavity that can be peeled off in order to provide for removal of the ice cube from one cavity while the cover prevents the other ice cubes from ejecting from their cavity.
Further, the present ice cube tray offers a unique cover that is light in weight, yet has sufficient weight to provide stacking of ice cube trays for shipment and storage. Still further, the present ice cube tray provides individual sealing of each cavity that keeps oxygen out of the cavity thereby avoiding or preventing bacteria, which is not found in the above prior art.
In addition, the present ice cube trays provide individually accessible cavities that indicate once the cavity has been disturbed.